Houthis Race to Own Property in Sanaa

FILE PHOTO: A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo
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Houthis Race to Own Property in Sanaa

FILE PHOTO: A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A view of the old quarter of Sanaa, Yemen November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi/File Photo

Houthi leaders and commanders in Yemen’s Sanaa have expanded their purchases of a variety of real-estate in the war-torn country’s capital, local sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat.

The purchases are suspected of being a part of a larger money laundering and settlement scheme mounted by the militias.

A new class of leaders and commanders affiliated with the Houthi group have been spearheading a systematic settlement movement, taking advantage of the Houthi control over Sanaa and the group’s plundering of state and private sector funds, well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Real-estate agents in Sanaa revealed that Houthi leaders are suspiciously racing to acquire ownership over the largest amounts of villas and land plots whether in the north or south of the capital.

According to agents, Houthis are paying above asking prices to lure landlords into selling.

Sources pointed out that the Houthi group is focusing its real-estate purchases on property located on the outskirts of the capital, especially on the southern, eastern and western fronts. They are also making purchases in the capital’s center.

A Houthi leader, according to a source speaking under the conditions of anonymity, had recently bought a residence in Sanaa for 600 million Yemeni rials (around $1 million). The Houthi commander then demolished the house and began construction on a new building with specific characteristics.

The source, familiar with the commander, said that before the coup, he was too poor to afford gas, but is now one of Sanaa’s richest figures.

Yemeni diplomat Abdel-Wahhab Tawaf has slammed militia leaders and commanders of plundering the money of Yemenis and channeling the stolen funds into buying property to serve the group’s sectarian agenda.

Tawaf exposed one of the Houthi leaders for buying a land plot in Sanaa for $10 million.



Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
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Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.